
14th-ranked Mountaineers top Texas Tech for second straight Big 12 road win
By Leah Nxumalo | Mon, 01/05/2015 - 22:27

Senior guard Juwan Staten returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 16 points—13 in the second half—to pace the Mountaineers.
Both teams shot well in the first half and it was a relatively a tight game early. However, the tables turned quickly in favor of WVU when their defense started applying mid-court pressure and forced Texas Tech to commit 14 turnovers by the end of the half. The Red Raiders turned the ball over 22 times in the game.
It was not an easy victory for WVU as the Mountaineers struggled offensively and could only turn the 14 first half turnovers into seven points. West Virginia began to loosen its grip on the lead late in the first half. A 12-2 Texas Tech run, fueled in part by junior guard Toddrick Gotcher’s 3-point jumper, cut the lead down to 32-29.
Gotcher ended the game with 14 points—most of which came from free throws (8 of 10)—and 5 rebounds.
Staten’s return to the court after missing Saturday’s win over TCU started off sluggish as he missed shots, dribbled too much and was held to 1-8 shooting from the field. He picked up the pace in the second half and ended the night with 16 points and 4 rebounds.
Senior guard Gary Browne picked up from where he left off in Saturday’s game and scored a team-high 9 points in the first half. Browne ended the game with 12 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
Freshman guard Jevon Carter also pulled through for West Virginia as he had a solid second half, getting 4 of WVU’s 9 steals. Head coach Bob Huggins, who sounded disappointed in the team’s offensive performance in the post-game interview, had nothing but praise for Carter’s play. The freshman ended the game with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
However, the United Bank Star of the Game belonged to Texas Tech junior guard Devaughntah Williams, who recorded 21 points on 8 for 11 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
WVU is now 8-3 against Texas Tech and improve their record to 14-1, which is their best start to the season since the 1981-82 team who started 24-1 and finished 27-4. The Mountaineers head back home and will face No.17 Iowa State on Saturday, January 10, at 8:00 PM at WVU Coliseum.
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